We should abolish parole for all crimes. This will save lives, save money and add certainty and accountability to our system. We should allow the prison director to award up to 15 percent off as an incentive for good behavior and to provide hope. But everyone must serve at least 85 percent. No more parole hearings, no loopholes, no exceptions.

Most people in Lancaster County probably have never seen a live Carolina heelsplitter before. Most people probably never even heard of them until the rare mussel became a threat to development in the booming Indian Land area.

But in the last year, these creatures have flexed their muscles, thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which have given them a voice. We've been told that since these mussels are protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, we must take precautionary measures to ensure they are protected in Lancaster County.

I truly appreciate Karen Smith's letter "Use common courtesy in parking lots, on highway" in the Sept. 16 edition of The Lancaster News. We all could learn from this. Courtesy is something that is necessary in our world today. I would like to add to her list a few of my pet peeves:

I am writing to voice my disbelief at the attitude of the Lancaster County Water and Sewer District.

My husband and I received our bill in December for $48, having used 2,000 gallons. We decided that with the ongoing drought, we could reduce our water usage by recycling the water from the shower by using it to flush our toilets and water our plants.

You may be one of the Lancaster County residents who won't vote in your usual polling place for the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries. The county combined several precincts because it did not get enough money from the state to open all precincts.

The statistics are in and the S.C. Highway Patrol is taking notice. In 2007, traffic fatalities were up in the county and across the state.

County numbers had 17 people die in fatalities as opposed to 10 in 2006. Statewide, the figures showed that 1,071 drivers lost their lives in 2007, up 43 from the previous year. South Carolina ranks among the highest in the nation in terms of number of traffic deaths and serious accidents per number of vehicles on the road.

He said it as if he were thinking out loud more than asking a question.

The Lancaster News and the S.C. Employment Security Commission were sponsoring a job fair. The irony is the day before the job fair, Springs Global announced its closing of the Grace Complex, where he worked.

Do you have pet peeves? I know I do. My two biggest pet peeves are based on the inconsideration of people who leave shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot and people who don't use turn signals.

With counsel from my family, close confidants and top staff, I have decided not to seek re-election and will retire at the expiration of my current term in January, 2009.

This was an extremely difficult decision for me because I love law enforcement, the good people of Lancaster County and most of all the men and women I have had the privilege and honor of working with throughout my 30-plus year career.

It’s the time of year that many of us make resolutions about changes we will make in the upcoming year.

Some popular resolutions are losing weight, exercising more and paying off debt, just to name a few. These are all worthwhile, but maybe this year we could consider a goal that empowers us to help children in need – becoming a volunteer Guardian ad Litem for an abused or neglected child.

Several years ago, I participated in a job fair for graduating journalists at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Representatives from media outlets across the nation – newspapers, broadcast, television and public relation firms – also were there.

We were there interviewing and touting our businesses to the future graduates. I was there representing The Lancaster News and our parent company, Landmark Community Newspapers Inc. (LCNI.) As the day wore on, folks from the different businesses began to wander around the concourse talking to reps at their booths.

My heart was truly warmed this Christmas season as I witnessed a tremendous outpouring of love in and around Lancaster County. Donations of food, toys, money and clothing were overwhelming and renewed my faith in humankind.

Family Promise of Lancaster County started in September 2007. The essential backbone of any organized group is to have committees to collect needed information or recruit volunteer help.

Family Promise is no different. The committees and their chairmen are: Host Recruitment Committee, the Rev. Dan Batson of First United Methodist Church, chairman: Fundraising Committee, Calvin Miller of Covenant Baptist Church, chairman: Public Relations, Mary Atkinson of St. Catherine Catholic Church, chairwoman and the Day Center with Chad Catledge of First Baptist Church as chairman.

It was all in the wording. The original S.C. Constitution outlawed gambling in the Palmetto State. But that changed in 1980s when a legislative loophole allowed payouts – in paper receipts not cash – for video poker. The receipts were then exchanged for cash.

That act helped spur one of the most profitable businesses in South Carolina – video poker gambling. Video poker had been around since 1975, but it boomed in the 1980s and became a multi-billion dollar industry.